jury in the lacrosse place. that player convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in a drunken and jealous rage, but did he actually come out better than he could have? and there are new fears about chemical weapon sites in syria. the military is saying it would take almost as many troops as there are in afghanistan to protect those chemical sites. they're also concerned about those chemical weapons falling into the wrong hands and perhaps being used against civilians. and in america's constant battle of the bulge there may be yet another magic diet pill. it's the first prescription drug to battle obesity in a decade. we are going to tell you all about it. it's getting a lot of buzz. >> the pros and the cons. duel in the desert as they're calling it. five days left until arizona and michigan. it's been forever since we've had a primary, right? rick santorum has had his turn at the top, but is it over? >> a lot of score cards saying that he may have actually missed his chance. with voters in mitt romney's home state watching, you saw the candidates battle over the auto bailout, earmarks, and their records with your money. the crowd was applauding a lot, particularly for mitt romney. cringing at times and booing rick santorum. here are some of the highlights. >> fighting to save the olympics, you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> you're entitled to your opinions but you're not entitled to misrepresent the fact. >> i heard that before. >> you're misrepresenting the facts. you don't know what you're talking about. >> yes, governor you balanced the budget for four years. you have a constitutional requirement to balance the budget. no great shakes. don't go around bragging about something you have to do. what michael dukakis balanced the budget for ten years. does that make him qualified to be president of the united states? i don't think so. >> a lot of sparring going on there. cnn political editor paul steinhauser is live in mesa, arizona. a couple of things that stuck out, they were sitting. awkward. romney and santorum really don't like each other. kind of an understatement, wouldn't you say? >> reporter: you know, the sitting was an idea to make it a more intimate setting. it did make it more uncomfortable with the two front-runners sitting there. you can tell there was not a lot of love between them. for santorum, he was forced in a way to defend some unpopular decisions with conservatives. his vote in favor of no child left behind, his vote in favor of supporting planned parenthood, his support in the past of earmarks and his support back in 2004 of arlen specter's re-electi re-election, the moderate senator at the time. take a listen to this exchange between santorum and romney. >> the reason we have obama care is because the senator you supported over pat toomey in pennsylvania, arlen specter, the pro-choice senator of pennsylvania that you supported and endorsed in a race over pat toomey, he voted for obama care. if you had not supported him, if we had said no to arlen spec tore we would not have obama care. >> why i supported arlen specter, number one, because arlen specter was a senator who was going to be the chairman of the judiciary committee at a time when the most important issue that was coming up in the next session of congress was two to three supreme court nominees. >> supporting arlen specter over pat toomey, that was a very tore tour rouse route. >> just about as torturous as six years later. >> in 1996 -- >> let's move the conversation along. >> reporter: not a lot of love there between those two gentlemen, huh? i talked to a top santorum advisor in the spin room after the debate and he said, not my candidate's best debate. nobody else hit a home run so they were not that concerned. the romney senior advisors were ecstatic. they think he did very well. santorum was forced to defend these decisions. they're very confident they're going to win michigan and arizona come tuesday. >> the highlights were fun to watch so thanks for replaying some of those. paul steinhauser live in mesa, arizona. thank you. a former lacrosse player was found guilty in the murder of his ex-girlfriend. george huguely ultimately convicted of second degree murder in the death of ex-girlfriend yeardley love. the jury recommended a sentence of 26 years in prison. cnn legal contributor paul call an here to talk this one through. it was just this time yesterday, paul, we were talking about the options this jury had. they could have gone all the way, could have gone first degree. ultimately settled for second degree, but it still could mean a lot of time in the prison. so what's the situation? what is he facing and what could this judge ultimately decide to do? >> this is a very, very serious charge. it's called second degree murder, but essentially it's murder with malaise. it's intentional murder. he's facing a stengsing range, it could have been 5 to 40 years. now that the jury has recommended 26 years the judge in virginia can give up to 26 years as the maximum sentence. so that would put him well into his 40s by the time he's out of prison. i should mention that in virginia they've eliminated the parole board so whatever time you're sentenced to you serve pretty much most of that time. unlike a lot of states where you get out on parole early. huguely's facing a very, very different life than he anticipated when he enrolled at the university of virginia. >> a lot of people would say, wow, 26 years, like you said with not a whole lot of options to get out on good behavior, that's a lot of time. was this something that his lawyers could look at as a break? because of course he could have gotten life? would they, therefore, actually start pouring over all of the transcripts from trial looking for some kind of error that they could appeal on. >> they'll clearly be looking for some kind of error. this was a compromised verdict. the prosecutor sought murder one which would have been life imprisonment sentence. the defense was looking for manslaughter which could have been as little as 10 years. the jury found middle ground. i will tell you, from the perspective of the prosecution, they put in a very strong case that this was a brutal murder, that this young lady was beaten to death, and then i think most telling, that she was left to die in her bed. if you beat somebody brutally to the point where they're unconscious and then you walk out of the room instead of calling 911, you're leaving the person to die. so there were elements of brutality that went beyond even the physical beating, and i think that's what the jury must have been thinking about when they recommended this 26-year sentence, which is a very, very long sentence for a college student. so there will be an appeal. >> that's the thing. you really think so? you don't think for the minute that after the violence, ugliness, a crying prosecutor in this case, that this lawyer isn't thinking, whew, we skated from a first degree. i'm taking this and running. i'm not going to take my chances on round two and end up sticking my kid in the can for life? >> ashleigh, after having represented people in these cases, anybody going to prison for that length of time, nobody's celebrating that. i have to tell you that when you take an appeal on a criminal case, you can never be sentenced to more than the initial sentence. so let's say hypothetically the judge gives 26 years or maybe even lesser, 20 years, you can take an appeal, get a reversal, and when you go back to trial maximum sentence you face is 20 years. that's the law in the united states. so an appeal is risk free to the defense. >> fascinating. i didn't know that. it's like a little double jeopardy. >> how do you like that? >> i like it. you won the bet, my friend. >> i did. >> no fellow any murder. i thought i'd bring it up. >> good to see you admit that on the air. >> i knew it was coming whether i it it or you did it. paul callan, thank you. it's eight minutes past the hour. we give you an "early start" to your day by alerting you to news that's happening and stories developing right now. they will be the big story tonight. u.s. officials are meeting with north korean officials in beijing to discuss whether north korea is willing to suspend its nuclear program. they'll also discuss human rights and humanitarian issues. this is the first time they'll meet since the death of kim jong il. >> and a new house contraception hearing is going to get underway today. don't get all excited popping popcorn and sitting by your tv. there will be no tv cameras aloud. it's an unofficial hearing. it was organized by nancy pelosi who claims that the republicans blocked broadcast but the gop is denying that that's what happened. >> and president obama is headed to florida today. he'll address gas prices and pitch energy policy at the university of miami. this morning's washington post says that he'll promote an energy policy that the administration says will reduce dependence on foreign oil in the long term. >> because we like to do it, we're minding your business this morning. gas prices are up. the new national average for a gallon of gas is, you ready, sitting down? you might be lying down because it's ten past 5:00 in the morning on the east coast, $3.61 per gallon. that's up three cents just from yesterday. >> so christine romans in to talk about this. $6 in florida? >> well, some of these high-cost places you're going to see them go up. you won't see a national average like that. tom closer from the opis he works for, he writes this funny blog. stop the hyperventilating. gas prices are going up. they go up every time this year. look, we're paying double or triple than we did ten years ago in the summer for gas. he thinks the national average will be something like $3.75 to $4.25. still hurts. california, chicago, although some folks in chicago yesterday were e-mailing me saying they haven't seen the price spike yet. >> they saw a reduction of ten cents. >> right. there's a variation around the country. i want to bring this back home and tell you $3.61 on average a gallon. up three cents in one day. you're watching your service station. you're watching the prices go up every day. it's probably going to continue. if you have an economy car with a 12.6 gallon tank, there's 43 bucks. your payroll tax holiday is disappearing when you're starting to see these numbers. now a couple of things here. a lot of people are focusing in on speculators. you're asking me an awful lot about record oil industry profits and how much speculators in the markets are contributing to this. hedge funds, commodity funds and index pools, yes, they have been buying futures and they have been betting more the prices are going up than down. in part that's because they're watching what's happening around the world with iran. if we have to pick a direction and make money, it's that prices will go up. i brought some of these points up to you yesterday. let's talk about what we can do. don't be a jerk, first of all. jerks pay more for gas. when you're riding the brake and riding the gas, it costs more. >> shouldn't you just not be a jerk anyway. >> keep your car hydrated. check all of your air filters, belts, hoses, all of that stuff. battery, tires. don't put too much stuff in the trunk in the car. don't be a jerky driver. you're like, i drive the same but the price is still going up. i get it. a lot of people are really angry about it. the president will be talking later today about his energy policy. almost a year ago he was talking about energy policy and how to use it. a little bit of everything approach to weaning us from foreign oil and more domestic production. >> super quick before the president does that, what you just put up, that list, does that make a big difference or are we just talking about couple dollars? >> you know, i'm not going to quantify because i'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. it does make a difference, but the price is going up faster than you can make a difference. >> christine, thanks. >> i know that tires make a difference. i've done it. so thanks for the reminder. tweet it out for us. >> i will. >> it is 13 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories that are making news this morning. the final four in the gop presidential race squared off one last time before the next crucial wave of primaries and caucuses including super tuesday. mitt romney and rick santorum, they went after each other on taxes and spending as they battle for michigan and arizona. an fda advisory committee voting overwhelmingly in approving the qnexa. this would be the first prescription weight loss drug in more than a decade. the president of argentina declaring two days of mourning. 50 people were killed and close to 700 people were injured after a commuter train had trouble stopping, overshooting platform after platform, and slamming into a metal barrier at the end of the line there. >> an update for you out of italy. eight more bodies have now been found in that wreckage of the italian cruiseship "costa concordia." it sank a month ago. that means 25 people now are confirmed dead but seven people still a month later, seven people are missing. italian authorities are expanding their investigation. seven more employees now are suspected of manslaughter, ship wreck, and failing to alert authorities. so the investigation continues. and talk about the price of failure. at&t has slashed the pay of its ceo as a direct response for the company's failed bid to take over t-mobile last year. gas prices will affect him. and it was not full on linsanity but the knicks didn't really need it as they routed the atlanta hawks 99-82. jeremy lin, you know him? probably heard of him. he had 17 points, 9 assists and all that he did by sitting out most of the fourth quarter. he may be facing his toughest test tonight when the knicks take on the miami heat. there's a movie out about the 2008 election. it makes sarah palin look like a woman on the brink of a breakdown. the palin camp is not happy. they're blasting the film. >> i'm going to see that. so excited. also take a look at the picture. we showed this to you. it was remarkable. the school bus driver who got the kids off that bus was haled a hero, but now the entire state is telling the schools there to look under the hood of your buses. we'll explain what's going on there. l sleeping? l sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ [ mom ] hi, there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. will be giving away passafree copies okay... of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. ♪ oh, this is one of my faves. beautiful people bumping in on a nice tower cam in charlotte. chris brown says you're beautiful people. 48 tee grees. you're headed out to a beautiful sunny day. 74 degrees. i hope that's the song that wakes you up this morning. >> i hope so, too. that's very nice. 19 minutes past the hour here. we're getting an early read on your local news making national headlines. this morning we have papers from charlotte, north carolina, and buffalo, new york. the charlotte news and observer. we'll begin there. north carolina officials, remember this moment? look at your tvs. when that bus caught fire. this woman was haled a hero. lindora richardson. she evacuated all the children off that bus and they watched as that happened. so they're inspecting the school buses now after the students and the driver were running for their lives. so the investigation revealed that the fire was likely caused by a wiring issue. the bus was built in 1999 by thomas built buses, that's the company. north carolina officials are ordering the school district to inspect all the thomas built buses from 1998 and 1999. i have to share this with you. i found this fascinating. at the time we had that story we said other buses had also caught fire. one of the local television stations there investigated the other fires around the state. they found that at least four or five buses that caught fire between 2010 and 2011 were these f 565 buses. although the company says, you know, that they don't believe that those buses in particular have a problem. i'm shocked that they are just ordering this investigation now and not immediately after that fire happened. would you let your kids back on that bus? >> not on that one. i don't think that bus is ever going to drive again. >> that particular bus, right? >> yes. >> i would never do that. >> i think states and governments in general move at the pace of glaziers and molasses. >> but when children are involved. >> i think that they're ordering this investigation. i think that's a good thing. let's move you to buffalo right now because if you have ever gone on the maid of the mist cruise to niagara falls. remember, jim and pam got married on "the office." nobody? okay. maid den miz is a cool trip. it's something a lot of people do. if you're an american it might be hard to get that little cruise because there's some business going on. the tour company's been sold, actually, to an american outfitter and because it's been wrangling over a little spit of land, i love it that there's a spit of land at niagara falls. it's a canadian spit. there's wrangling whether they can operate the american side of the tour. so you might have to go to canada to get your niagara falls tour. that's not such a bad thing because it's a great country. i'm just saying. i'm not biased. >> worried about those tours though. they make me nervous. >> those? >> they make me nervous. >> they don't go over -- >> you just never know, right? i would be the first. that would happen to me. no thank you. >> i can see you. >> i've been to niagara a million times. i watch it. i watch it from the edge. >> it feels safe. >> sorry, not doing it. 22 minutes past the hour. time to check your weather. rob marciano is in atlanta for us. good morning. >> guys, that is an intimidating amount of water. >> it is, isn't it? >> come on. this pour tour company. you don't get anywhere near the edge of the falls. you go under. >> i'll go repelling off mountains but not on that. >> plus the diplomacy between canada. that tension is palpable. >> i don't know why this country allows canadians in here. i d